NC Emergency Management earns national re-accreditation

From staff reports

Published: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 3:50 p.m.

Public Safety Secretary Frank L. Perry announced Tuesday that the state’s Emergency Management program has been granted full re-accreditation by the national Emergency Management Accreditation Program.

“This is yet another affirmation of what an outstanding group of emergency managers we have in North Carolina,” Secretary Perry said in a news release Tuesday. “Time and time again our local, state and federal agencies and volunteer organizations prove they are up to the challenge and can respond to any emergency.”

The EMAP accreditation is a voluntary process for state and local government programs that coordinate preparedness and response activities for natural or man-made disasters. It affirms an agency’s ability to bring together staff and resources from a variety of organizations to prepare for, respond to and recover from any given emergency, and validates that the agency can provide continuous and consistent response to disasters.

The EMAP process evaluates several areas including: planning, resource management, training, exercises, evaluations and corrective actions, communications and warnings. The accreditation status is valid for five years, after which time the agency must be reassessed and recertified to ensure they are compliant with EMAP procedures and standards.

After months of preparation, NCEM staff worked with trained EMAP assessors last spring as they conducted a peer-review assessment of the agency’s programs and practices to ensure the division was in compliance with 64 national standards. Assessors examined 18 capability categories ranging from Hazard Mitigation to Incident Management to Crisis Communications. In 2008, North Carolina became the 11th state to earn national accreditation. There are now 30 states and 15 local jurisdictions which have earned accreditation status.

<p>Public Safety Secretary Frank L. Perry announced Tuesday that the state's Emergency Management program has been granted full re-accreditation by the national Emergency Management Accreditation Program. </p><p>“This is yet another affirmation of what an outstanding group of emergency managers we have in North Carolina,” Secretary Perry said in a news release Tuesday. “Time and time again our local, state and federal agencies and volunteer organizations prove they are up to the challenge and can respond to any emergency.”</p><p>The EMAP accreditation is a voluntary process for state and local government programs that coordinate preparedness and response activities for natural or man-made disasters. It affirms an agency's ability to bring together staff and resources from a variety of organizations to prepare for, respond to and recover from any given emergency, and validates that the agency can provide continuous and consistent response to disasters. </p><p>The EMAP process evaluates several areas including: planning, resource management, training, exercises, evaluations and corrective actions, communications and warnings. The accreditation status is valid for five years, after which time the agency must be reassessed and recertified to ensure they are compliant with EMAP procedures and standards. </p><p>After months of preparation, NCEM staff worked with trained EMAP assessors last spring as they conducted a peer-review assessment of the agency's programs and practices to ensure the division was in compliance with 64 national standards. Assessors examined 18 capability categories ranging from Hazard Mitigation to Incident Management to Crisis Communications. In 2008, North Carolina became the 11th state to earn national accreditation. There are now 30 states and 15 local jurisdictions which have earned accreditation status.</p>